Ottolenghi

Best pastries near Bayswater!

Rude staffjust incredibly rude! I can’t believe they don’t get rid of them. Guys chatting among themselves and eyeing you up. It’s appalling!
I used to enjoy going to the one in Knightsbridge, where I found the food really good and the staff very friendly. Kensington is the total opposite. I went there for a pain au chocolat and some foccacia once, and was pretty underwhelmed. Nothing was fresh.
Today, went for a croissant, and it was stale and tasteless. Tesco’s taste better.
Sack your staff for heaven’s sake!

Fail-​proof date plan: get lunch and cakes from Ottolenghi, a bottle of wine from the deli across the street, and have a picnic at, sure Hyde Park, or amp it up by going to Holland Park and sitting by the ruined mansion.
I walked past the window display three times before giving myself license to enter. I didn’t even see the real food until check-​out, I was so focused on the cakes.
Walked out with lemon and pistachio cake– I’m not sure if this was gluten free, but the mass quantity of pistachio and the dense, delicious, unique texture of not-​all-​flour cake was outstanding. Also had a blueberry vanilla cupcake (ran a cupcake bakery, am a highly judgmental cupcake snob so I have to try all competition) with perfectly sweetened, silky smooth cream cheese vanilla frosting and a dense, muffin-​like cake. Also had a s’more. I’ll forgive them for completely misinterpreting what a s’more actually is and creating a Moon Pie. (What is with this upsurge of s’more products in the UK from makers who have clearly never had an actual s’more?)
Those three goodies came to £7ish. Absolutely worth it.
Was also mightily impressed by the service. Even though it’s in a super posh area and a super nice store, they didn’t judge me for my old Sainsbury bags full of sleeping bags (I couldn’t have looked more like a bum really, a friend is lending them for visitors) and even came out from behind the counter to open the door for me and my shitty bags on my way out.

Yotam Ottolenghi is a familiar face on TV to those who watch foodie programs. Visiting one of his food shops will tell you why he’s so popular.
This branch is tucked just off busy Kensington Church Street. They draw you in with the display of irresistibly yummy looking cakes and baked goods in the shop window. Once inside, you’ll discover more substantial items like salads for lunch and there are tables to have a meal.
I left with a box of goodies to share because I’m generous like that. Besides, a calorie shared is a calorie halved!

Yummy cakes in the cutest store. Every time I walk by the window I feel like drooling. I love the lemon cupcakes and chocolate and raspberry cake. It is a little pricey but the cakes are definitely worth it!

Tucked away on a side street of Kensington Church Street, it would be easy to remain completely unaware of this delightful little delicatessen’s very existance. Thankfully, wandering in search of somewhere to buy lunch with my mother last summer, we spotted it. As keen perusers of the first Ottolenghi cookbook (though slightly less frequent users!), we quickly agreed to try some of their wares.
The shop window was enough to set my pulse racing — beautiful looking cakes and pastries with exquisite sounding names. Inside, the small selection of salads was just as appealing. We settled on sharing a box of mixed salads, and following it with a cake. The salads we picked — which included char-​grilled broccoli with chilli and garlic and delicious courgette fritters — were fantastic, not at all over-​oily (and I’m fussy about oil!) and full of flavour. We accompanied them with a delicious foccacia bread, and finished with a lime-​polenta cake.
Since then, we’ve agreed to take every opportunity to visit again. My mum isn’t in London often, but we’ve managed a second visit and hopefully will get to go again. There are only two possible negatives to the whole experience; it’s a little bit pricy (but then, I am a student, so pretty much everything is), and on both occasions one of us has managed to break our wooden forks. But maybe that’s just a sign of how enthusiastic we were to tuck in!

This place is amazing. Their branding gurus are almost as genius as their chefs. Everything is gorgeous — especially the food.
They have a whole range of healthy stuff (vegetable-​based dishes) and a ridiculously tempting supply of baked goodies.
I tried the flourless chocolate torte and the rosewater polenta cake. Yum and yum. Amazing. I am getting hungry now thinking about them.
Gluten-​free notes: When I visited, they were able to identify 3 types of baked goods that were gluten free. The options were a rosewater polenta cake, a flourless chocolate torte, and another chocolate cake (the only one I did not gorge myself on). Delicious. Some of the best gluten-​free baked goods in London. I appreciate that they focus on «normal food» that is naturally gluten-​free, because, not surprisingly, they get great results that way.

I like Ottolenghi. Desserts that taste as good as they look. Up to 10 selections of healthy and creative salads. Amazing breads. Bottled jams, sumac and zaatar for sale. Breakfast options like morning cups (yoghurt and muesli).
This particular branch is very small. Cute and lovely but I much prefer the Angel branch, especially for the service, which I find a little snobby. Great food but the lady was bothered that I chose so many different salads in a small box.
No seats, a little pricey (£12 for my small box of salad) but very tasty!
Tip: you can ask to try the salads.

I just finished dinner at my friend’s house– I brought dessert and it was chocolate fondant from Ottolinghi
one thing to know about me is … I don’t like chocolate !!1
but this one was incredible to say the least
I will try the cold dishes they have next time I am in kensington… I am also thinking of taking some of their cooking courses
I am officially obsessed

I don’t think it’s possible to pass by Ottolenghi’s shop, look in the window at all the gorgeous pastries, and not feel compelled to go in and buy something. One of the best places to find pastries in London.
During my visits, many customers were also buying their savory dishes, although I haven’t tried any of them.

I am a bit fan of Ottolenghi’s and thought I’d better counter-​balance the previous review.
I used to think the food was rather overpriced until I tried to recreate the recipes at home — they are worth every penny considering the quality of the ingredients and the time that goes into producing them.
I mainly come here for a sweet treat at weekends. I have not had any cakes that didn’t taste divine. Lemon tart and carrot cake are amongst my favourites, ever.
We also encountered the best service here the other day. Lovely guy, very sweet and knowledgeable. (staff at the the Notting Hill branch can be a bit snotty at times)

I used to work close by, and at least once a week I’d stop in for something– for dinner, for breakfast, for dessert, or just an afternoon treat. Everything at Ottolenghi is as delicious and fresh as it looks.
For breakfast I love the pecan apple carrot muffins, the sour cherry scones, and probably best of all the morning pot. They use their homemade granola, layered with thick yogurt, and very original flavors of fruit compote-​banana and passion fruit among them.
Their chocolate chip cookies are perfectly done, the little chocolate tarts, the passion fruit meringue tarts, the caramel macadamia nut cheesecake, I could really go on and on about the desserts.
Really, I have never had anything less than amazing here. I miss it all the time-​luckily I picked up their cookbook before I moved away so I can attempt to recreate it!

OMG fantastic, I am totally hooked. Divine Salmon and range of healthy but scrumptious salads. Amazing cupcakes and desserts. Everything is slightly unusual, with a special twist. Pricey but worthy it, Ottolenghi has a special niche in the market that no-​one else can match. Please note this branch is take-​away only.